EDITORIAL: Let's salute our graduates
Jun. 3—Last year, we wrote that the Class of 2020 "does not have an asterisk alongside it."
The necessary coronavirus pandemic shutdowns caused an interruption in school life and pretty much nixed all of the normal social, sports and other activities — including graduations.
Principals, counselors and teachers worked with parents to craft drive-by graduation ceremonies. But gone were track, baseball and softball seasons, three months of classroom normalcy, and all end-of-year social events. It was especially upsetting to seniors, particularly spring athletes, band and drama enthusiasts, for whom the finale to the school year is a traditional highlight.
This year's graduating seniors faced a similar but yearlong struggle. From shutdowns causing some later starts, to hybrid openings to pauses, to in-person call-backs, our schools in Astoria, Seaside, Warrenton, Knappa and Jewell have sought to weather the storm.
Despite continuing complaints from parents and others in the community, education leaders have taken a reasonable, cautious approach, embracing the primary core value that the safety of students and school staff must be paramount in all decisions. We should commend them.
Stories emerging from Clatsop County classrooms demonstrate that our students have proved adaptable and resilient. Mask wearing and social distancing, hand-washing and minimal contact, have proved to be new learned behaviors that we will all need to continue into the foreseeable future.
But we shouldn't just cheer the graduates in the coming couple of weeks and wish them well on the next phase of their life journeys, to the work world or ahead to further education, without acknowledging what they have lost.
It's easy for someone not walking in their shoes to suggest that they must "make the most of it" or "grow up." Those inappropriate attitudes ignore the true sense of loss young people feel about what the pandemic has stolen from their lives. This is especially true for all the members of our senior classes. Prom, homecoming, plays, concerts, postseason sports and the culmination of graduating amid crowds of friends and family is an American norm. It has not existed for the class whose final year of high school began last fall and concludes this month.
Social distancing, even outdoors, is still a necessary component of our pandemic response, even as many feel more comfortable after their vaccinations.
Like the students in 2020, this month's graduates will face a vastly different work world and college environment to the one encountered by their older brothers and sisters who left high school in 2019 or before. Hazards, expectations and challenges will differ. They can expect to encounter entirely new protocols for everyday survival. It is almost redundant to put into words that American society is not returning to the past. "New normal" is a reality, not a cliché.
So we wish them well, knowing that teachers and others have worked creatively to equip them for what is ahead.
Graduation is usually a time to envelop the successful graduates in hugs. Sadly, that human contact is still largely missing during this second year of the pandemic.
So Class of 2021 — Fishermen, Seagulls, Warriors, Loggers and Blue Jays — good luck. And consider yourself hugged.
